The present invention relates to a method of coordinating an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices.
With the advent and proliferation of mobile phone devices, both cordless (low power, limited range) and cellular, individuals frequently alternate in their use of particular phones. That is, individuals may use a fixed location wire line phone while in their kitchen or office, a cordless phone while moving about, and a cellular phone while in the car or outdoors. In order to provide calling parties the convenience of not needing to know which of several phones their intended called party is located nearest to, various mechanisms are available to coordinate the successful completion of calls.
For example, several wire line and cordless phones may share a single line number and physical connection to the network, that is, be extensions of the same line and number. When an incoming call rings, it may ring extensions in several locations simultaneously. Ringing several locations simultaneously makes it more convenient for the calling party to reach the called party when the calling party does not know the location of the called party. However, ringing several locations simultaneously increases the likelihood that an unintended party answers the incoming call. Sometimes, the unintended party that answers the incoming call may complete the call by audibly or visibly alerting the intended party, for example, by saying xe2x80x9cthis call is for you.xe2x80x9d For example, when an unintended party answers an extension located downstairs in the home, the party may complete the call by telling the intended party to xe2x80x9cget the phone.xe2x80x9d
In order to extend the convenience of multiple extensions to cellular users and other users that do not remain in one location, functionally similar but technically different mechanisms are available to maximize convenience and completions. For example, call forwarding on busy or don""t answer, active on either a cellular or wire line phone, forwards an incoming call directed to one phone (which is busy or not answered) to another phone which may be answered. This mechanism is one of many available and frequently used today.
A drawback of the currently available mechanisms such as call forwarding on busy or don""t answer is that users simultaneously located at different extensions may have no way of coordinating the taking of an incoming call. Particularly, when the different locations are out of sight or earshot of each other, there is no simple way of coordinating the taking of an incoming call. For example, if one user is upstairs or in the next office and the other is nearby, the first can answer the call and shout to the other, xe2x80x9cthis call is for you!xe2x80x9d However, if the user for whom the call is intended is at a distant extension, other users near ringing extensions may have no way of knowing either whether the call is answered or by whom. Furthermore, if an unintended recipient answers the call, he or she may have no way of alerting the intended recipient. For the wireline network, there are a few mechanisms available that address this problem. For example, intercom buzzers may be used to alert other extensions of a call, but these intercom buzzer systems are not widely used due to their cost or other factors.
For the foregoing reason, there is a need for a method and system of coordinating an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method of coordinating an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices that generates call status signals at the telephony devices to inform users of a status of an answered call.
In carrying out the above object, a method of coordinating an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices is provided. The method comprises, in the presence of the incoming call, generating an incoming call notification signal at each telephony device. The method further comprises, upon answering of the incoming call at an answering telephony device of the plurality of telephony devices, generating a call status signal at each telephony device to inform a user of a status of the answered call.
In a preferred embodiment, several of the following features are included. Preferably, the call status signal indicates the answering telephony device. Preferably, generating the call status signal at each telephony device further comprises generating an add prompt at the answering telephony device. The add prompt is generated to allow a user at the answering telephony device to select a different telephony device. In response to selection of a different telephony device at the add prompt, an incoming call signal is generated at the selected different telephony device. Preferably, a caller identity corresponds to the incoming call and the incoming call notification signal includes the caller identity. In some embodiments, the plurality of telephony devices share a single telephone number. The call status signal may include a visual signal and/or an audible signal. Each telephony device may have a device type, and the visual and/or audible signal may be based in part on the device type.
In a preferred embodiment, generating the call status signal at each telephony device further comprises generating a join prompt at a non-answering telephony device to allow a user at the non-answering telephony device to request to join the call. In response to a request to join the call at the join prompt, the non-answering telephony device is added to the call.
Further, in carrying out the present invention, a method of coordinating an incoming call among the plurality of telephony devices sharing a telephone number is provided. The method comprises, in the presence of the incoming call, generating an incoming call notification signal at each telephony device, and upon answering of the incoming call at an answering telephony device of the plurality of telephony devices, generating a call status signal at each telephony device to inform the user of a status of the answered call. The call status signal indicates the answering telephony device. The method further comprises generating an add prompt at the answering telephony device to allow a user at the answering telephony device to select a different telephony device, and in response to selection of a different telephony device at the add prompt, generating an incoming call signal at the selected different telephony device.
A plurality of telephony devices may share a single physical telephone line. Alternatively, the plurality of telephony devices may include at least one wireless device. In a preferred embodiment, generating the call status signal at each telephony device further comprises generating a join prompt at a non-answering telephony device to allow a user at the non-answering telephony device to request to join the call. In response to a request to join the call at the join prompt, the non-answering telephony device is added to the call.
Further, in carrying out the present invention, a system for coordinating an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices is provided. The system comprises a plurality of telephony devices sharing a telephone number. Each telephony device is programmed to, in the presence of the incoming call, generate an incoming call notification signal and to, upon answering of the incoming call at an answering telephony device of the plurality of telephony devices, generate a call status signal to inform a user of a status of the answered call.
Preferably, the call status signal indicates the answering telephony device. Further, preferably, the answering telephony device is programmed to generate the call status signal by generating an add prompt to allow a user at the answering telephony device to select a different telephony device, and in response to selection of a different telephony device at the add prompt, communicating an incoming call signal to the selected different telephony device. In some implementations, the plurality of telephony devices share at least one physical telephone line.
Even further, in carrying out the present invention, a telephony device for coordinating an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices sharing a telephone number is provided. The telephony device comprises a telephone. The telephone is programmed to, in the presence of the incoming call, generate an incoming call notification signal and to, upon answering of the incoming call at an answering telephony device of the plurality of telephony devices, generate a call status signal to inform a user of a status of the answered call. The call status signal indicates the answering telephony device. The telephone is further programmed to generate an add prompt when the telephone is the answering telephony device to allow the user to select a different telephony device, and to, in response to selection of a different telephony device at the add prompt, communicate an incoming call signal to the selected different telephony device.
The advantages associated with embodiments of the present invention are numerous. For example, embodiments of the present invention coordinate an incoming call among a plurality of telephony devices, which may include fixed location wire line phones, cordless phones, cellular phones, and even other devices such as pagers and the like. Embodiments of the present invention provide visual displays and/or audible tones that allow users of associated wireless and/or wire line telephony devices to coordinate use at arbitrary distances as if they were in visual or audible contact. That is, multiple telephony devices, possibly including both wireless and wire line devices, are synchronized. In preferred embodiments, embodiments of the present invention provide a mechanism for conveying to users of non-answering extensions, information about the answering of a call at another, possibly distant extension. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention provide a mechanism for signaling between users from one extension to another.